Where We Left Off
by Our Midnight's Musings
Summary: Sasuke is back in Konoha and fresh out of prison. The only thing to do now is to decide what path he must take. But first, there is a certain pink haired annoyance that has to stop avoiding him. ON HOLD!
1. Where We Stand

He was home.

There was no other way to interpret what he was currently experiencing. The familiar smells, voices and the faces that never seem to have left his imagination were now in his presence. After years of avoidance, they were here. There was no revenge for a massacre that was too cruel to bear, no hate to block his senses. Uchiha Sasuke was finally free to live his life.

The wind mixed with the earthy scent that could only belong to Konoha flowed gently from the hospital windows. It blew softly against his growing bangs, and he couldn't help but close his eyes to drift off into a peaceful daze. He had probably missed this simple attribute the most, before and after his imprisonment.

Being locked away for months, bound and blinded in a drafty dungeon was certainly not anyone's idea of fun. But he deserved it at the least, Kakashi had granted him a punishment significantly lenient for his crimes. Besides, it had given him some time to reflect on himself. What he wanted for his future.

"Uchiha-san?"

A nurse poked her head through the doorway, holding a tray of assorted vegetables on rice with a small portion of meat. "It's time for lunch." She chimed as she set down the food on the small table to his right.

"Aa." He nodded in gratitude.

Her name was Tamura Yoko, a young, mousy girl with brown hair. Normally, he would have never bothered to remember a nurse, but she was different. Unlike the other nurses who were either too afraid or disliked him to be able to care for him comfortably, she was kind to Sasuke. Out of curiosity one day, he had questioned her about this.

"Sakura-san personally assigned me to you." Was her answer.

Apparently, Sakura had mentored Tamura during her probational period in the hospital. And once she was promoted to a full-time position, Sakura had officially taken her under her wing. There was no doubt that this girl respected his former teammate greatly. And because it was no secret to the whole village what Sasuke meant to Sakura, she would treat him to the best of her abilities.

Perhaps it was the pink haired woman's way of watching over Sasuke without being there to watch over him herself. To send a nurse that wouldn't chatter his ear off nor ignore his needs. And while he appreciated this tremendously, it stung a bit to know that she still refused to see him.

The last he saw of her was during his final days of confinement. She was the only physician the council and he would allow to examine him. Periodically, she cleaned his stump to avoid infection and healed his damaged retinas. She was also under strict orders and supervision so there was no small talk, but he didn't care. Her soothing touch and breathy instructions were more than enough. Naruto, however, did not see the point to these restrictions and often broke into his cell as much as he could.

To his complete frustration, the Dobe never ceased to amuse himself with the echoes that the tunnels provided him. Needless to say, that dumbass was damned lucky that Sasuke could not move any of his limbs.

Sasuke pushed back his thoughts when a familiar pounding noise came from the door. Tamura quickly went to open it, only to find that the nuisance himself (accompanied by his replacement) was the source.

Humph, speak of the devil.

"Teme! We brought lunch!" Naruto grinned as he waved a plastic bag with his new arm. The pair walked into the room, each grabbing pushing a chair next to the Uchiha's bed.

"Hello, Traitor. How was your nap?" Sai happily joined in.

"Uzumaki-san, please be quieter!" Tamura panicked. "There are other patients sleeping!"

The blonde laughed and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oops. Sorry." Sighing, the nurse gave a curt bow to the men and left the room.

"What brings you idiots here?" Sasuke groaned. So much for peace and quiet.

"Like I said, lunch! Duh. No one likes hospital food." Naruto snorted before pulling out an instant ramen cup and walking over to the small sink in the corner. "And don't bitch about how you don't want us to eat with you, you introverted bastard. I sacrificed Ichiraku today, ya know."

"You know what introverted means?" Sasuke deadpanned.

Sai nodded as he unpacked a tray of sushi. "He's learned a lot of big words recently due to spending so much time with Hyuuga Hinata."

"Fuck you both." The blonde grumbled after inserting his ramen into the microwave.

Hyuuga Hinata huh? If memory serves him correctly, she was the shy heiress of team 8. Not to mention she blushed and stuttered almost every time the Dobe was around. "Dating?" he asked impartially as he picked up an Onigiri obviously purchased from a convenient store.

"Huh? No! We don't see each other like _that_." Naruto waved wrist insistently. "She's an important friend. We've just been hanging out a lot because she misses Neji. That's all."

The poor girl was in love with a fool, an oblivious one at that. "Hn." Sasuke merely continued to chew on the salty rice ball.

"But if you want to talk about girls, what's up with you and Sakura-chan? Why is she still avoiding you?" The hero sat in front of him, staring with great exasperation. "I didn't bring you back here to just not to talk to each other."

"Perhaps Ugly is holding some sort of grudge? Have you offended her recently?" Sai held his chin in thought.

Sasuke glared at the pale ex-root member. He had gotten used to his replacement's fondness for unusual nicknames. Referring to the Dobe as Dickless was humorous in itself, and although 'Traitor' was a bit of a low blow, he wasn't too far from the truth. However, when it came to Sakura, he would have never gotten where 'Ugly' stemmed from. Though he would never admit it out loud, she was far from ugly.

"I did nothing." Sasuke retorted. At least, he was sure he did nothing.

"Then why is she being like this?" Naruto whined. "I want us all to get along!"

"Ugly also turned down our invitation to eat together today. She lied and said she had already made plans with Ino, and yet Ino just left this morning for a mission." said Sai.

"It's not a big deal. If she doesn't want to come near me then don't force her to." Sasuke sighed deeply. "Now shut up and eat already." He mumbled before taking another bite.

Naruto frowned. Clearly his emotionally stunted friend was just as bothered about this as he was. No matter how much he pretended that he wasn't, it was practically all over his face. The way his eyes lingered at the door like she was going to come walking in any minute. The way his shoulders tensed up any time some mentioned her name. The disappointment in his voice when he tried to change the subject.

He hated it when his friends lied to themselves.

"Whatever." Naruto huffed before slurping up the steaming noodles. Sasuke would have to man up and Sakura-chan would have to stop playing hard to get if they were ever going to get together before they got old.

* * *

"Stupid," Sakura spat at her reflection in her bathroom vanity. "that's what you are."

Yes, Naruto was no longer the knucklehead of Team 7, that title now belonged to her. She groaned and hung her head down in shame. What an idiot! Today was a prime day to visit Sasuke! But no, of course she had to reject Sai and Nauto with some lame excuse. And it just so happened to be on a day where she didn't reek of blood and antiseptic! Her hair was neatly combed for once, and she even had some time to apply a thin amount of makeup. An opportunity lost and wasted.

Today wasn't the first time either. In fact, since his discharge from prison, she had not seen him once. Almost a whole week of dodging his room at the hospital, hiding behind walls while masking her chakra every time he walked down the hall and avoiding visits in general. She could not have been more pathetic!

Sakura gave her reflection one more glare before exiting the washroom. Thankfully, she was off duty for the rest of the afternoon. Throwing her body onto her white suede couch, the medical ninja decided to stay in. She wanted to wallow in the privacy of her new apartment for a few hours longer.

"Sasuke-kun," She mumbled into a pillow. "I want to see you." It was the truth. There was no one in the world that wanted to be by his side as badly as her.

"I want to see him," Sakura repeated this like a mantra until her eyes slowly closed, and she dozed off.

 _Team 7 gathered together at their usual spot in the training grounds. Each of the three teenagers were bruised and covered in leaves, while their teacher's uniform remained neat. Sakura resisted the urge to scream while continued to pick out the sticky plants from her hair. Kakashi grinned and leaned back into the wooden post behind him. "That's all for today, children. Your mission is completed." Not without a few minor setbacks, of course. But that was to be expected of a trio of green shinobi. The good news was, their teamwork was significantly better._

" _Ugh, finally!" The vessel of the nine-tailed fox moaned loudly, stretching his arms into the air._

" _Now, now. You've been asking for a challenge nonstop since the Chunin exams ended. What's with the lethargic attitude, suddenly?"_

 _Naruto rolled his eyes at this. "Because! I wanted a chance to show off my skills, not spend an entire day looking for a kid that forgot where he lived!"_

 _Sakura frowned and slapped the blonde upside his head. "Will you shut up? He didn't forget, he was lured out by a thief who trying to get a ransom for him! Besides, he's Ino's cousin." Originally, they had only been training in the forest when suddenly they heard a woman crying in the distance. Once they found the source, Sakura immediately recognized her to be one of Ino's aunts. She explained to them that her five-year-old son had gotten separated from her while they were harvesting wildflowers. Then, what started out as an assignment to find a lost child in the woods, quickly ended up becoming a rescue mission once evidence of struggle appeared._

" _But I didn't even get to land a punch on the guy! Sasuke beat me to it!" Naruto pointed to the Uchiha to his right._

 _Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and huffed in annoyance. "That's because you were too slow. He would have gotten away if I let you handle it."_

" _Nu-uh! Sure, that senbon threw me off for a second, but I was perfectly fine!"_

" _You idiot, your arm was paralyzed! You're just lucky Kakashi-sensei caught the second one before it hit you!" yelled Sakura._

" _Dope."_

" _Why, you!"_

 _The former Anbu member sighed. "Can't you three give it a rest for once?"_

" _Fine! I'm hungry anyways." Naruto dusted his pants off before turning to his teammates. "You guys wanna get some grub?"_

 _Kakashi-sensei shook his head. "Maybe next time, I have some business to attend to. You kiddos have fun though. See ya!" And with a poof, he was gone._

 _The boys started to walk towards the main road but stopped when they noticed she wasn't following them. "Sakura-chan? You coming?" The blonde asked._

 _She waved her hand and smiled gently. "Actually, I have some things to do too. I'll see you guys tomorrow." With that being said, she turned to the opposite direction and walked off. The pink haired girl could only imagine the awkwardness that ensued between her friends after her departure. She couldn't help but giggle, imagining Naruto and Sasuke's confused expressions as she strode along the field._

 _It was hours later and the sun had begun to set; coloring the sky in purples and oranges. Sakura would have appreciated the pretty scenery, if only she weren't so occupied with the wooden martial art's dummy in front of her. This section of the training grounds was used by Team Gai regularly, but they had been kind enough to let her borrow it on their days off. Lee especially was more than happy to let her use his equipment and even offered her a matching jumpsuit (which she politely declined) as a gift. Whether it was purely due to his supportive nature or for personal satisfaction was none of her business._

 _The dummy was perfect for improving her hand to hand combat skills. The more she used it, the more she understood how to counter attack. The initial weirdness of using an inanimate object to 'spare' with was something she learned to get over. However, she was far from talented. Her moves were still unfocused and unsure. And keeping a proper stance up the whole time was exhausting._

" _You're putting too much weight on your leg." A familiar voice rang in her ears. A voice that would never cease to send shivers down her spine._

 _Sakura lowered her hands but did not turn to face her teammate. "Sasuke-kun." She acknowledged him._

" _Isn't it a bit too late for you to be training?" He asked coolly as he paced his way to her side. And while his tone was gentle, his presence made her feel small. Like she had been caught doing something wasn't supposed to do._

 _A soft chuckle fell from her lips. "That's funny, coming from you Sasuke-kun." Training was more important to him than eating sometimes._

" _Tch."_

 _Deciding to continue her previous exercises instead of standing like a statue, she started to move again. This time, trying out a new position. She flung her hands at the slats as fast as she could then went in for a few punts. Right, left, right, left, drop kick._

" _Too sluggish, you have to put some more speed into your kicks. Let the wind of it give more of an impact. Otherwise, you're just going to end up getting tired faster." Sasuke pointed out._

 _She thought about it for a second, then swung her leg at a swifter pace. "Like this?"_

" _Faster. It's a combination move, you have to keep up with the tempo." Was his next instruction._

 _Five minutes passed and she was beginning to get the hang of it. Perhaps it was because of his company, but suddenly she felt more energetic too. She wanted to get this right, not only to impress him but for herself._

" _Keep going." His encouragement rang in her ears._

 _Then, finally, it happened._

 _Her last kick sent a powerful blow to the wooden post, thus breaking apart the bottom half from the top._

 _Sakura stared at the wreckage in front of her in amazement. "Wow!" she exclaimed. How the hell did she do that? That was awesome!_

" _Better." He smirked in agreement._

 _As soon as the shock wore off, the strength in her legs ran out a second later. She fell onto the grass with a loud thud. Her whole body was tingling and throbbing as the adrenaline started to dissipate, leaving her a panting mess._

 _She couldn't resist any longer and peered up at the handsome boy. He looked pleased, and that alone made her already pounding heart beat faster. "I've never landed a blow like that before." Sakura smiled shyly, a small blush tinting her cheeks. "Thank you."_

 _Sasuke stayed silent for a minute, slightly uncomfortable under her gaze._ " _Hn." He grunted before kicking away a piece of wood. "So, this is what you've been doing this past couple of weeks."_

 _Now it was her turn to feel uneasy. It was a bit embarrassing to be seen training at such a basic level, so Sakura had tried to keep it a secret. Normally Kakashi had them work on their Ninjutsu, but compared to her male teammates, she was much better suited practicing like this. Out of their way and at her own pace._ " _I haven't made much improvement, but I'm trying." said the pink-haired genin._

 _Pulling her legs to her chest, she hid her face from him._ " _Even though it's not fair- even though I know that I'll never be as strong as you or Naruto, but I…" Damn, she was getting emotional._ " _I want to help, to be useful. Not just to get protected all the time like dead weight." She didn't want to feel as weak she did in the Forrest of Death or during the fight with Gaara, ever again._

 _A jolt shot through her system when a warm back pressed against her's. She flushed a bright red when she realized it was Sasuke sitting behind her. Oh crap, he was sitting behind her! And she was drenched in sweat! Sakura cried internally, unsure if she was blessed or cursed to be within such close proximity of the love of her life._

" _You're not dead weight."_

" _Huh?" Sakura turned her head to look at the boy, surprised._

 _Sasuke inhaled deeply, thinking about his words carefully._ " _Your chakra control is impeccable, and you have a knack for strategy. And despite what you lack for in taijutsu, you can still win if you put your mind to it." It was true that out of the four of them, Sakura was the weakest. But she wasn't absolutely talentless or handicap. They still needed her in their team, he saw that now. "I don't consider that to be dead weight."_

" _Sasuke-kun…"_

" _During the exams too, in that forest, you held your own against three sound ninja way above your level."_

 _He narrowed his eyes and gripped the grass beneath his fingers._ " _Because I couldn't protect you, you ended up getting hurt."_

 _Sakura spun around to face his back._ " _No! It wasn't your fault, it was because Orochimaru-" She cut herself off. Nothing good came from speaking that monster's name. Besides, Sasuke was sensitive about the curse mark on his neck and forbade anyone from mentioning it unless it was an emergency. The pink haired girl felt tears well up in her eyes. God, she hated that snake bastard! If she hadn't been so weak, so afraid of him, then maybe things would have turn out different._

 _She shook her head angrily. No, there was no point thinking about those things now. What mattered the most was that Sasuke was here, in this moment._

 _He was safe in their village, surrounded by Kakashi-sensei and other powerful Jounin who would protect him. He had friends who cared for him. And even if they could never replace the real family that he lost... she and Naruto would always be there for him._

 _And yet, somewhere in her heart, the nagging fear of him disappearing still remained._

" _Sakura?" Sasuke asked, surprised when he felt two small arms wrap around his torso and her forehead pressing into his shoulder._

" _Sorry, I know you don't like it, but just let me stay like this." Her voice was unusually low as her fingers fisted the material of his shirt. "Please, just for a little while."_

 _He didn't say anything for a while, but his body relaxed in her embrace before he whispered,_ " _Only until the sun goes down."_

Her eyes fluttered open. Slowly, her vision adjusted to her surroundings and the darkness.

What was with that dream, she wondered. Sakura moved over onto her side, glancing at Team 7's picture on her wall. It happened so long ago, she had almost forgotten about it.

"We both pretended it never happened the next day, that's why." It would only embarrass him if anyone knew about it anyways. And they were assigned that mission to the Land of Tea shortly after. So many things happened, they were all exhausted and very injured when they finally came home.

Then he left.

Groaning, the pink-haired kunoichi sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was so _tired_. As if he didn't have a big enough effect on her reality, he had to disturb her dreams too? As a doctor, it was her professional opinion that sleep was meant to rest the mind, not overwork it!

Wait, work!

"What time is it?!" Sakura quickly ran to her room and grabbed the small alarm clock on her nightstand. It read the ugly truth. "Oh crap, I'm late!" And within the same minute, she was running out the door.

* * *

 **Hello readers! Well, I'm on vacation! This is just a small fic that I'm writing to get me into the groove again. Eventually I'll update Mama and Papa, but for now, enjoy this little piece that's been brewing in the back of my mind!**

 **Review please! ;)**


	2. Where We Give In

"I don't believe it."

Leaning back in his chair, Naruto raised an eyebrow at the blonde in front of him. "Believe it."

Ino sighed and took a sip of her sweet tea. The last thing she expected to do as soon as she came back from her mission was be confronted by Naruto, Sai, and Hinata. An odd trio, not to mention. The next thing she knew, they were all sitting at a cafe discussing her best friend's love life. "Why would Sakura, of all people, avoid Sasuke?" Didn't make one bit of sense. The girl spent years chasing him down, why suddenly stop when he was right in her territory?

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you." Naruto rolled his eyes. Damn, he had hoped that Ino would have some gossip to share about this whole situation.

"Hmph, well, you're out of luck. I didn't even know about any of this." The Yamanaka heir flipped her long locks in annoyance. Since they were kids, she and the idiot have never really had a close friendship and often argued over petty stuff. Not to say that they didn't like each other, but it was just the dynamic that worked for them. Even if he was the savior of the world, some things will never change. "From what she's lied to me about, she's been on pretty good terms with him."

"They haven't even seen each other!"

"Then who's treating him?"

"Ugly has assigned various nurses and therapists to tend to Traitor in her stead," Sai interjected. "She has not once entered his room."

"Seriously? Ugh, that damn Forehead." Ino groaned. What a waste of an opportunity! Sakura should have attacked by now! How else was she suppose to seduce Sasuke-kun?

Hinata decided to chime in as well. "Maybe she's busy managing the hospital?"

Naruto huffed at this. "Too busy for Teme? No way." Even if she did have a shit ton of work, _imminent death_ couldn't stop her from going to Sasuke. The only thing keeping Sakura away was herself.

"B-but she must have some important reason for not seeing him." the dark haired girl insisted. She was not as tight-knit of a friend to Sakura as Ino was, but she understood the medic's situation. Hinata glanced over at the tanned hero sitting next to her. When you truly love someone, there's nothing more consuming than the need to be with that person. That's why she knew that Sakura-san was most likely having a hard time by evading Sasuke. There had to be some sort of an explanation for her decision.

An important reason? What could be more important than someone you loved? Naruto tapped his fingers on the table in frustration. He had tried asking Sakura, only to get nowhere with her.

 _"Naruto, can't you see I'm working? I don't have time for this." Sakura sighed. He had cornered her in the middle of the shift, next to the reception desk. He knew better than to get in her way, but he was dead set on confronting her about this._

 _"You're always working." Was his clipped response._

 _"Look, I promise to hang out with you guys after things calm down here. Alright?" She glared at him before handing some folders to an arriving doctor. "Pass this on to the lab for me."_

 _He folded his arms over his chest. "You know that's not what this about."_

 _"Whatever it is, can't it wait?"_

 _"Haven't you made him wait enough?"_

 _Sakura tried not to show how uncomfortable she was, even though she was well aware that Naruto wouldn't be fooled. "...it's not like I'm never going to see him again. Another week or two isn't going to hurt."_

 _Did she plan to stay away even longer? The blonde chewed on his bottom lip. This could be a problem. The bastard had made him swear not to tell anyone yet, but if anyone had the right to know it was her. "But Sasuke might-"_

 _"Naruto!" Sakura chastised him. They were already being stared at, mentioning the Uchiha had caught the attention of everyone in the room. It was one thing to be unprofessional in the workplace, however, embarrassing her in front of her coworkers and patients was out of the question._

 _He clenched his jaw. "Fine! But this isn't over Sakura-chan!" And with that last warning, he stomped out of the hospital._

If neither of them was going to budge, he would just have to take matters into his own hands.

"What if we just leave them be? They'll run into each other eventually," said Ino. She didn't want to throw Sakura under the bus if she wasn't ready to meet with Sasuke-kun.

Naruto shook his head. "Not good enough. Teme won't admit it out loud, but I bet he's pretty bothered by all this. Sakura-chan has always been special to Sasuke." Plus time was sort of an issue.

"I can attest to that. I have noticed that Sasuke-kun's previous attempts to kill focus mainly on those who bare significant meaning to him."

Standing up abruptly, the son of the Fourth Hokage growled. "Sai, you asshole! That's not fair and you know it!"

"Is it not true though?" Sai replied nonchalantly. They were treating the traitor like some helpless child. He wasn't going to coddle him as well.

"You...!" Naruto bristled. He wasn't wrong, but the situation was more complicated than that. Sasuke had been forgiven already and was trying to turn his life around. It wasn't right to bad mouth him about it, especially when only a few people knew the real story.

Hinata stood up and tugged his sleeve. "Please don't fight." She pleaded him gently. Naruto's eyes softened and sat back in his chair.

Smiling in relief, the Hyuuga heiress followed suit. She then turned her attention to the pale-faced man. "Sai-san, in times of hatred, people often make horrible mistakes without caring about who it affects. And Sasuke-san wants to atone for his sins, he's proven that already. Is it going to change anything by making hurtful comments?"

Sai paused at this, thoughtful and somewhat stunned.

"If you truly care for Naruto-kun and Sakura-san, which I'm sure you do, please show some compassion to Sasuke-san out of respect for them."

"I apologize." The ink master said earnestly to the other male. Naruto smiled and patted him on the shoulder. They were good.

Ino rubbed his back affectionately. "It's alright Sai-kun, I sort of have the same resentment towards Sasuke myself sometimes. But like Hinata said, we all make mistakes."

"Right, now back on the subject. I was thinking of faking an injury to lure Sakura-chan into a room. Then we get Sasuke to-"

"Hold on a minute here! Why should we get involved? They're both adults, they can work things out for themselves." Ino huffed. She wasn't all that willing to play cupid for people that could easily burn her to a crisp or punched into a crater. Things could go left if they weren't careful.

"Are you kidding me? Sasuke can't do this alone! He's barely starting to forgive himself and I know for sure that he still thinks he doesn't deserve Sakura-chan!" Naruto insisted.

"That's interesting, you really seem hell-bent on getting them together. But weren't you in love with her yourself?"

The knucklehead ninja froze. Uh oh.

Unknowingly, the black haired girl next to him tensed up as well.

Sai nodded in agreement. "Yes, this has occurred to me as well." He was well aware of his friend's feelings for the pink haired girl. So much that _he_ even scolded her for being so insensitive towards him.

Naruto scratched the back of neck nervously. "Uh...come on guys, what's that got to do with anything?"

All of three of them stared at him expectantly. A sweat drop formed on his temple.

He sighed, giving in. "Look, she's never loved anyone but Sasuke since we were kids. And I love them both too much to let a silly childhood crush to get in the way of their happiness." Not to mention that it was hard to stake a claim on someone you never truly had in the first place.

He looked at his prosthetic hand and flexed it a bit, clenching and unclenching. Honestly, whatever he felt for Sakura had pretty much disappeared the moment he saw Sakura beg Sasuke not to fight him. It hurt him to see her openly tear herself up like that. As for the bastard... Well, she and Kakashi couldn't see it from their angle, but Sasuke actually looked conflicted for a second. His suspicions were confirmed as well when Sasuke admitted to putting Sakura in a Genjutsu for her own protection. It was obvious that Sasuke didn't want to have a repeat of what happened on the hospital roof years ago. Not just so that they could finally finish their battle, but so that she wouldn't get hurt in the process.

Yamanaka eyed the man in orange, taking in the emotions he wore so visibly on his sleeve. She didn't even have to use her Mind Transfer Jutsu to know what he was thinking. He really moved on from Sakura. Now he just wanted her to be happy.

She wanted that too.

Ino glanced at the shy girl in the corner. She had to force herself not to smirk when she noticed Hinata's eyes light up when the idiot verbally declared that his first love was over. You know what they say; when one door closes- another one opens. _"Your welcome."_

"Alright then, count me in."

"I will also help."

"Let's do our best, Naruto-kun." Hinata beamed up at him.

Naruto grinned at her in return. "Yeah!"

* * *

Maybe it was because the lack of activity, but Sakura has always enjoyed her night shifts at the hospital. There was something so peaceful about walking the silent halls. Most patients were asleep, visiting hours had long been over, and half of the staff was off duty, so there was hardly any noise. It was uncharacteristically relaxing for a place that was responsible for hundreds of lives.

Although if she was ever bored enough, she could always make a trip to the ER wing. There was always something to do there.

But not tonight. After clocking in late, she was bombarded with work. Then, after spending another two days in and out of various surgeries, she was finally off for a while.

Sakura sighed into her lukewarm cup of coffee as she passed the recovery ward. Plus, the issue of talking to Sasuke was still weighing on her mind.

It bothered her to no end. She wanted nothing more than to sit with him and become acquainted the man he was slowly turning into. To be in his company after so many years, without having to fear of an oncoming attack. Just to talk like in the good old days. _"Pft, yeah right. When has he ever only talked to me about anything?"_ she thought to herself bitterly. Even during those times, she was nothing more to him than a teammate. Maybe even a friend, if she was lucky.

She shook her head in irritation. No, they certainly were friends. But her insecurities were making an attempt to rationalize her own cowardice. Because maybe, if she had misconstrued his tolerance for her as something more than what it was, it would provide her with enough reason not to seek out his company. Rejection from him, despite being very familiar with it, was something that she wanted to avoid if possible.

Well, not to say that she was even considering voicing her feelings out to him again. No way, this wasn't the time for that. (And the last thing she wanted to do was pressure him with her love.) It was more or less along the lines of, 'Hey, we haven't had the best history together, but what do you say we start over?' Only to have him turn her down or worse, accept out of guilt.

He didn't have anything to gain from spending time with her. Naruto was different- they were soulmates, in a brotherly sense of course. It made sense that they remained close friends. Kakashi-sensei had always favored Sasuke too. And now that he was Hokage, it was in both of their best interests to establish some sort of relationship.

But her? What right did she have?

Finally tired of wandering around, Sakura had settled for sitting in the empty lobby next to the cafeteria. She didn't feel like going to her office. The paperwork waiting for her there was enough incentive to keep away. Leaning back into the comfortable cushion of the armchair, she closed her eyes and let her mind draw a blank. Hopefully, a short nap was in her future.

"Sakura-san?"

Of course not.

Opening her eyes, the pink haired woman was met with a friendly face. It was the nurse she had assigned to Sasuke. "Yoko? What are you doing here?" she asked curiously. Normally, the Medical Assistant would be off after the evening shift. But based on her uniform, the girl was still on the clock.

"Ah, my friend asked if I could fill in for her and cover the maternity ward. So far so good, only one woman went into labor." Tamura laughed. "I was just about to head to the break room before my last round."

"Oh, that's nice of you." That was expected of Yoko though. She was a kind person.

"But why are you here sitting by yourself, Sakura-san?" The brown haired girl adjusted her glasses. It was unlike her mentor to lounge around here in the hospital. Sure, she socialized with the other medics, but it was usually brief. Ultimately, if she wasn't tending to the villagers, she was in her office going over reports. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was only eighteen. However, she supposed that type of hard work was to be expected of the great Senju Tsunade's apprentice.

"Hm? I was just thinking about some personal matters." Sakura mumbled.

"Oh, sorry for interrupting you." she smiled sheepishly.

Sakura waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. I should probably head home soon anyway." Yawning, she stood up and straightened out her pink skirt. Making the walk home would be, as Shikamaru would say; troublesome. She internally groaned at the thought of dragging her already swollen feet through the dark streets. But it wouldn't be so bad, her apartment wasn't too far from the hospital.

"I'll be on my way then. Good night." The mousy girl bowed politely and headed for the hallway to her left.

Instead of going her own way, Sakura was rooted to the floor as she watched as the small nurse drifted away. A thought had been gnawing at her for the past week. With her sudden busy schedule, she hadn't had the time to check in with Sasuke's physical therapist or any of his doctors for an update on his condition. But given the information she did have, it wouldn't be long before he was released. It would be a good opportunity to hear from one of his caretakers now.

Biting her lip, she couldn't help but call out. "Wait, Yoko."

Immediately turning to her mentor. "Yes?" Tamura replied, surprised.

"... how is he?" She didn't elaborate- she didn't have to.

Recognition slowly appeared on her face. Tamura pushed up her large framed glasses up the bridge of nose before answering, "Quite well, actually. His retinas show no sign of strain. His phantom limb syndrome also appears to be gone. And if continues doing the exercises Doctor Hamada gave him, he should be back to his normal strength soon enough."

A small dose of anxiety crept into her body. So, he was almost fully recovered huh? Had it been that long since he was admitted? What would he do once he was free to leave?

"I see." Sakura stared at the tile on the floor, intently focusing on the gray and white patterns. "Thank you for taking care of him. I know how difficult he can be." With that as her last statement, she headed in the direction of the nearest staircase. Paperwork be damned. Having a nice, long banging-her-head-against-the-wall session in her office was very much needed.

Just as she was just about to take another step, Tamura's voice squeaked out. "Um! I know it's not my place but,"

As their eyes met, the shy nurse twisted the hem of her shirt nervously. Honestly, she would prefer not to get involved in someone else's business, but she felt that this had to be said. "Sasuke-san seems to be waiting for you."

Sakura felt as though lightning had struck her. What? Sasuke-kun was...?

"He doesn't ask for you personally, but he reacts every time your name is mentioned!" She continued on to say. "And sometimes when he senses your chakra nearby, he'll stare at the door when he thinks nobody is watching."

"..."

Tamura swallowed. The way her superior looked made her feel very uncomfortable. There was helping it though, someone had to tell her.

"Damn it."

"E-eh?" The nurse squeaked.

"Shannaro!" Sakura roared. She couldn't believe it... He wanted to see her too! A warm, tingly sensation filled her chest. She was so happy. "That's it! No more putting it off, I'm going to him!" Without even realizing it, she had dashed off to the recovery ward. This was it, she was going to see Sasuke and set everything right between them!

Gulping, Yoko watched as her mentor ran off into the distance. "I-its the middle of the night though..."

* * *

 **Next chapter is the big meeting!**

 **Review please ;)**


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